Andy Roddick - "Tennis has been better since the moment Rafael Nadal entered the arena"

Andy Roddick spoke about how Rafael Nadal improved tennis since the Spaniard made his ATP Tour level debut in April 2002.

Nadal faced Carlos Alcaraz at the Netflix Slam on Sunday (March 3) at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Michelob Ultra Arena. Roddick was in attendance as well, as the former ATP World No. 1 was roped in by Netflix as one of the commentators for the exhibition event.

Roddick and Andre Agassi joined hosts Kay Adams and Prakash Amritraj in the buildup to the match and spoke at length about a variety of tennis-related subjects. At one point, Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, opened up on Rafael Nadal's impact on tennis.

"It's fantastic (to have Nadal back). Listen, the sport, since the moment he entered the arena, has been better for having had Rafa Nadal in the building", said Andy Roddick.

The former World No. 1 also revealed how he personally saw the Netflix Slam.

"I view this today as a celebration of himself against the person who is hopefully going to follow his legacy with Carlos Alcaraz. I feel lucky to be in the building", he added.

The Netflix Slam went Alcaraz's way as he got the better of Nadal 3-6, 6-4, 14-12. The exhibition event marked a return to the tennis court for both players.

Nadal, 37, had sustained a hip injury at the Brisbane International that ruled him out of the Australian Open and the Qatar Open. Alcaraz, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury during his Round-of-32 match against Thiago Monteiro at the Rio Open.

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Andy Roddick recently singled out Carlos Alcaraz's serve as a weakness in the Spaniard's game

Carlos Alcaraz at the Netflix Slam

Carlos Alcaraz's Netflix Slam triumph will do little to cover up the truth that he has failed to live up to expectations since winning his second Grand Slam title at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The closest the Spaniard came to clinching another title since then was at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters.

Recently, Andy Roddick dissected the 20-year-old's game and pointed out the Spaniard's serve as a weakness.

"I think his serve leaves a lot to be desired. That is the one thing that I don't think he has improved much at all in the last two years." Roddick said last month during an episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast (via AS).

Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero responded to Roddick's criticism. While Ferrero respected Roddick's opinion, he disagreed with the American. Roddick later lamented the fact that his words were taken out of context.

The ATP World No. 2 is set to start his preparations for the Indian Wells Masters next. He is the defending champion, having beaten Daniil Medvedev in last year's final.